After
My Brilliant Friend
Chiara Lagani2023
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing slower
More like it
Same elegiac register, still literary
- pace+1prose0bleak+1
The Overstory
Richard Powers2018
Nine strangers are connected by their unique relationships with trees. The narrative spans decades as they converge to protect a forest.
pace+1·prose0·bleak+1
- pace+1prose0bleak0
The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny
Kiran Desai2025
Two former acquaintances reconnect on a train in India. They navigate their past family connections and their current lives in Vermont and New York.
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
- pace+1prose0bleak+1
The Spinning Heart
Donal Ryan2001
Twenty-one different narrators describe the aftermath of the Irish financial crash in a small town. The story centers on a local construction boss.
pace+1·prose0·bleak+1
- pace+1prose0bleak0
Lake Like a Mirror
Sok Fong Ho2019
A collection of short stories centered on the lives of women in Malaysia. The prose focuses on the quiet pressures of religion and patriarchy.
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
Denser prose
- pace+1prose+1bleak+1
Gravity's Rainbow
Thomas Pynchon1973
During the end of WWII, an American lieutenant's sexual encounters seem to predict where German V-2 rockets will fall. The narrative is fragmented.
elegiac → sardonic
pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace+2prose+1bleak+2
A Brief History of Seven Killings
Marlon James2014
A large cast of characters recounts the 1976 attempt on Bob Marley's life. The narrative spans decades and moves from Jamaica to New York.
elegiac → propulsive
pace+2·prose+1·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak0
Ulysses
James Joyce1914
Three characters wander through Dublin on a single day in 1904. Each chapter uses a different literary style to mimic thoughts and sensations.
elegiac → playful
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
- pace+1prose+1bleak+2
The Sound and the Fury
William Faulkner1929
The decline of a Southern family told through four perspectives, including a non-linear stream of consciousness from a man with a disability.
Same elegiac register
pace+1·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace+1prose+1bleak+1
Briefing for a Descent into Hell
Doris Lessing1971
A man is found wandering London and placed in a psychiatric ward. The narrative shifts between the hospital and his internal cosmic hallucinations.
elegiac → dreamlike
pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1
To recover
- pace+2prose-2bleak-1
Redshirts
John Scalzi2012
Low-ranking crew members on a starship realize they are disposable characters in a sci-fi television show. They attempt to escape their fate.
elegiac → playful
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+3prose-2bleak-1
The Da Vinci Code
Dan Brown2003
A symbologist and a cryptologist flee the police while solving puzzles hidden in art. They search for a secret regarding the Holy Grail.
elegiac → propulsive
pace+3·prose-2·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-2bleak-1
Fifty Shades of Grey
E.L. James2000
A college student enters a sexual contract with a wealthy businessman. The story focuses on their power dynamics and BDSM encounters.
elegiac → earnest
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+3prose-2bleak-1
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
elegiac → wry
pace+3·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+3prose-2bleak-1
Ready Player One
Ernest Cline2008
A teenager in a dystopian future hunts for a digital easter egg inside a massive simulation. The quest relies on 1980s pop culture trivia.
elegiac → propulsive
pace+3·prose-2·bleak-1
Faster
- pace+3prose-2bleak-1
Dial A for Aunties
Jesse Q. Sutanto2021
A photographer accidentally kills her blind date. Her mother and aunties help hide the body during a massive luxury wedding.
elegiac → playful
pace+3·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+3prose-1bleak+1
Child 44
Tom Rob Smith2008
A Soviet security officer investigates a serial killer in a state that officially claims murder does not exist.
elegiac → tense
pace+3·prose-1·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+3prose-1bleak0
Candide
Voltaire
A naive young man travels the world while his tutor insists that everything is for the best. He encounters a series of global catastrophes.
elegiac → sardonic
pace+3·prose-1·bleak0
- pace+3prose-2bleak+1
Complete 30 Days Of Night Trilogy
Steve Niles2007
Vampires descend on an Alaskan town during a month of total darkness. The survivors attempt to hide and fight back in a graphic novel format.
elegiac → bleak, still graphic novel
pace+3·prose-2·bleak+1
- pace+3prose-2bleak-1
The Da Vinci Code
Dan Brown2003
A symbologist and a cryptologist flee the police while solving puzzles hidden in art. They search for a secret regarding the Holy Grail.
elegiac → propulsive
pace+3·prose-2·bleak-1
Heavier
- pace+1prose0bleak+2
Bewilderment
Richard Powers2021
An astrobiologist uses experimental neurofeedback to treat his son's emotional outbursts while they mourn the boy's mother.
Same elegiac register, still literary
pace+1·prose0·bleak+2
- pace+1prose+1bleak+2
The Road
Cormac McCarthy2006
A father and son walk through a landscape of ash and scavengers toward the coast. They carry only what fits in a shopping cart.
elegiac → bleak, still literary
pace+1·prose+1·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose0bleak+2
The Association of Small Bombs
Karan Mahajan2016
The narrative follows the victims, survivors, and perpetrators of a terrorist bombing in Delhi. It examines the long-term psychological fallout.
elegiac → bleak, still literary
pace+1·prose0·bleak+2
- pace+2prose0bleak+2
- pace+2prose0bleak+2
The Underground Railroad
Colson Whitehead2016
Two slaves escape a Georgia plantation via a literal underground train system while being pursued by a slave catcher.
elegiac → bleak
pace+2·prose0·bleak+2
